SHANGHAI, March 11 (Reuters) - Eli Lilly ( LLY ) plans

to invest $3 billion in China over the next decade, which will

help build production capacity for its experimental type-2

diabetes and obesity treatment orforglipron, the U.S. drugmaker

said in a statement on Wednesday.

The company submitted a marketing application for orforglipron

to China's drug regulator at the end of 2025, Lilly said in its

statement on WeChat.

Orforglipron, Lilly's once-daily oral non-peptide GLP-1 agonist,

helped overweight adults without diabetes lose 12.4% of their

body weight over 72 weeks at the highest dose in a late-stage

trial.

In ​another study, orforglipron helped maintain weight loss in

patients switching from its GLP-1 injection, known as Zepbound

in the U.S., and rival Novo ⁠Nordisk's Wegovy.

Lilly also aims to establish a localised manufacturing and

supply system for oral solid dosage forms, the statement said.

The company is the latest Western healthcare firm to

announce additional manufacturing investment plans in China,

following the likes of Haleon ( HLN ) and AstraZeneca ( AZN )

earlier this year.

Lilly's announcement comes ahead of a summit between U.S.

President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping this month.

Not all drugmakers are pursuing this path, however.

U.S. group Bristol Myers Squibb ( BMY ) said in September it had

signed an agreement to sell its 60% ownership stake in a

pharmaceutical joint venture in China. A manufacturing facility

in Shanghai was part of that venture.